Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-03-06
ART TREASURES.
TIE TURKS BAssARous xAexrFr-
cEKcB IN GLASS cAsgs.
Dummy sultsns In Robes Of state-The
Lovely Iittis B.gdad Kiosk
M al Tiles

M al Tiles.
lconsian,lnople iotsor 70 the London TiiacAl
The lover of art aud nature who
Passes from 81. Petersburg TO Constan-
tinople viii find opportunities for graft
fying both sides of his appreciation of
the beautiful, hat he cannot crafty
both al once. The two cities are in
strong contrast. IN ~. Petersburg ma
ture has been spaTiDg OF her gifts, but
art in the ermitsgc makes amends
for this defect. ln COnstantlnople,
on the contrary, nature has been
lavish--she his given the imperial
city an imperial site "a site unri-
vailed in the world bat II q student
tears himself away from the never-fail-
ing destinations OF the Bosphorus and
goes ashore in search OF the monuments
Of art he viii be surely disappointed.
Constantinoplo, indeed, is a veritable
vhited sCpulchre seen from little
distance IL is dream OF unapproacha-
lie beauty which nearer approach
shows 10 have been only a dream.
What sight can compare with the view
Of the SeraeliO Point from the Golden
HON about sunset Can any one ever
forget it who has gently descended the
EospboTus in a caique-the most per-
feet mode OF progression yet dis
covered-and has seen the seven hills
OF Siamboul standing out against the
red of the western sky, and presently
witnessed the marvellous transforma-
ton as the tall cleaning minarets cast
hack The rays of the moon Distance
indeed lends q potent enchant-
mcnt to such scene-a spell
that holds one breathless till one
comes too close, and then it is broken.s
II is pity, but one ought not, in con-
sidcTation Of ones finer sensibilities, to
become too closely acquainted with the
buildings which form so picturesque a
Whole when seen in due perspective.
The truth is that the mosques of Con-
stantinople will hardly stand the test Of
detailed and separate examination.
They certainly will not bear compare
son with those Of Cairo. We shall find
no such variety AS exists in two such diff
icrent buildings as the mosques of Tulun
and Kat Bey. All the mosques of
ftamboul are constructed after one
pattern, and that pattern is the Church
Of Santa Sophis. There are architects
who see in this noble edifce the perfec-
ton of every canon of artistic con-
stIuction. And, from within, there
can be no doubt that the splendid pro-
portions Of the srched sides, and the
dome, and the shell-hke spse must i'm
press the most ignorant visitor. 1t is
true that the Turks have not improved |
the aspect of the interior with their |
great faring medallions inscribed with |
the names OF God and the Prophet |
and tho four orthodox Caliphs, or by |
the inappropriate private box which |
ilty erected for the accommodation of |
Tie Sultan when he happens to come TO !
prayers. These are sins of commission |
Cf an unpleasantly glaring kind, but the
slns of omission are even more distress |
ing. The medallions and the Sultan's |
lux might be removed and leave no |
fatal vacancy behind, but who can re-
Place the mosaics that are daily |
falling out upon the floor, and |
ere even picked out by the at
tCndHnts TO be sold to western tourists?
Who can restore the obliterated |
portions of the four seraphim who
spread their wings beneath the spring
Of the dome or the countenances of
saints and martyrs on the walls which
Moslem iconoclasm has partly effaced
Santa Sophia is becoming q ruin eve
Tything that is movable is suffered
gradually 80 fall to pieces, and is even
wantOnly destroyed by the "care-
takers" Save the mark of the mosque
church.
Iut all the ruined beauty of this
great church cannot reconcile us to its
exterior Hemmed in by other and
insignificant buildings one has diff
Guilty III getting a good view of the out
side, and is compelled to see it too near
for advantageous effect. 1t is doubt
less prejudice. but those who know a
true Cairo dome can never accommo-
date their taste to the dumpy cupolas,
or agglomemtions Of cupolas, like an
elaborate wedding cake, of all Constan-
tinCple mosques. However, for good
or ~, the external features of Santa
Sophia have impr .ssed themselves to
such an extent on the Turkish imagina-
II III liihl lllt uiNDlNtNlo Nttn utNl-t III |
other form OF building. We pass from
mosque TO mosque, and every one OF
them is more or less copy of Santa
Sophia. The domes are too corpulent,
the minarCts too pointed and the whole
exterior lacks light and shade. The
Suleimaniya, or mosque OF Suleiman
the Great, is indeed, internally, q
splendid building that will bear com
parisOn, some think favorably, with
Santa Sophia itself Another fine
mosque is that of Sultan Ahmed,
with its SIX minarets, which help
the stranger TO distinguish it externally
from its two resembling rivals. AS your
eve runs along the line of domes and
minarets that extends from Eyoub to
the green gardens OF the old SeragliO,
almo ST identical external features meet :
You in every case The crown of the
city of the seven hills is composed OF
jewels OF identical size and shape. |
TlCre is no invention or originality !
about Turkish architecture, and, how 4
ever good model may be, it is monoto- ,
nous to find even Santa Sophia repeat
ed I'd jHtissgtum.
The chief characteristic thing IN
Turkish decoration is the general en-
ployment of mural tiles. The idea, OF {
course, came from Persia, but the {
Turks, while they we're rs a rule won
dcriully deficient in the arts seem to
have succeeded in bringing the tech q
nique of pottery to perfection, and the S
theory which ascribes almost all the 1
best Damascus and Cairo and so-called I
Rhodian tiles to the period of Turkish '
in the sixteenth century s
rests upon more evidence than ]
many people think At all events {
we hear little or nothing OF 9
tiles in Egypt before the Turk I
ISL conquest. There are no tiles to /
compare in fabric with those of Con 4
stantinOple. Every one knows their '
general appearance, the large designs S
81 flowers and leaves Of blue of two i
shades, with large proportion OF bril-
liant red decoration in relief They are b
known as Rhodian, but G
here is q difference between the two /
which is easily recognized. The duller
,olors and less skilful baking, blurred